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Your Alaska Link News Team

Anchorage has seen a sharp drop in traffic tickets issued by police in the last five years.

Last year, 22,566 tickets were issued. That's fewer than half of the 56,622 tickets issued in 2009.

Police Chief Mark Mew says police are writing as many tickets as they can, but there are fewer officers on the streets because of attrition.

Reports say grant funding for overtime traffic and drunken driving enforcement also has dried up, from than $1 million in 2009 to about $150,000 in 2013.

Mew says he expects to see the traffic-ticket trend reversed once the department increases officer numbers. He says that likely won't start until the middle of next year, given the time it will take for training recruits.